The Creative Family Manifesto - by Amanda Blake Soule (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Bring more fun, unity, and love to your household through creative activities the whole family will enjoy--featuring ideas for imaginative play, arts and crafts, nature explorations, and more

Embrace family life with creativity at its heart. The Creative Family Manifesto is a guide to using the simple tools around you--your imagination, basic art supplies, household objects, and natural materials--to relax, play, and grow together as a family. When you learn to awaken your family's creativity, wonderful things will happen: you'll make meaningful connections with your children, your children's imaginations will flourish, and you'll learn to express love and gratitude for each other. This book is just what you need to get started.

Amanda Soule has charmed many with her tales of creativity and parenting on her blog, SouleMama. Here she shares ideas and projects with the same warm tone and down-to-earth voice. Perfect for all families, the wide range of projects presented here offers ideas for imaginative play, art and crafts, nature explorations, and family celebrations.

Released on its ten-year anniversary, this revised and updated edition of The Creative Family, carries on Amanda Soule's thoughtful perspectives on parenting.

Review Quotes

"Amanda Soule has been a beacon of light for so many of us creative, full-hearted women. Through her blog and her books she inspires, teaches, and shows us how to bring creativity into the every day. The Creative Family Manifesto is gift to us all."--Carrie-Anne Moss, actress and founder of Annapurna Living

"The work of Amanda Soule has weaved its way into so many of our homes, and what was a pioneering proclamation ten years ago, The Creative Family Manifesto has circled back once again to restore its rightful place on our nightstands . . . motivating us to live more fully.--Ashley Yousling, creator of Woolful

"Amanda's original book, The Creative Family, was my blueprint as a young mom. It helped shape my approach to parenting and our value system as a family. Her simple projects and activities became part of our daily lives and helped us start our own traditions. My kids are entering their teenage years now, but their unplugged, imaginative childhoods set the foundation for the thoughtful, creative people they've become. In this new version, The Creative Family Manifesto, Amanda gets to the heart of how to cultivate creativity and togetherness. If I had to choose one book to gift new mothers, this would it. I am so excited to watch as the next generation is shaped by the wisdom in these pages."--Erin Benzakein, author of Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden

"When The Creative Family was published ten years ago, I was a mom of two young children. At that time, Amanda's lovely words inspired a new level of appreciation and discovery that helped guide me through those simple (at times monotonous) days I spent with my little family. The simple prompts reminded me to stay present and curious. My original, dog-eared, bookmarked copy, along with this newly released version, will be passed on to my son and daughter as they begin their own families."--Blair Stocker, author of Wise Craft Quilts

"In the face of technological advances and endless child-raising possibilities, it's easy to lose site of what matters most. The Creative Family Manifesto brings us back to the basics with a grounded reminder that creativity starts with family connection, play, rituals, and a focus on the handmade. When I was a new parent, this was the book that set me on my creative parenting journey. If you're looking for direction on how to gracefully weave creativity into your family life, look no further than Amanda Blake Soule as your trusted guide."--Rachelle Doorley, author of Tinkerlab

"A delightful book for all readers with an artistic bent."--Library Journal

About the Author

Amanda Blake Soule is the creator of the popular blog SouleMama, which she began in 2005 as a way to share the creative journey of her family. That emphasis on creative exploration, family connection, and appreciate for nature is at the heart of her first three books--The Creative Family, Handmade Home, and The Rhythm of Family (which she co-wrote with her husband, Steve). In 2012, Amanda started Taproot magazine, an ad-free print publication dedicated to exploring the topics of food, farm, family, and craft through art, photography, recipes, patterns, and personal narrative.

Amanda lives in Western Maine with her husband, five children, and a growing menagerie of farm animals in a 200-year-old farmhouse, on a homestead they are bringing back to life. Growing and making all manner of things in their days, they strive as a family to stay connected to one another and the Earth by bringing creativity into the everyday.